NSGP Board of Directors, Executive Committee
Co-PresidentJoel Krieg, LICSW, CGPJoel Krieg, is a social worker with a private practice in Cambridge. He has worked in various settings - inpatient, partial hospitalization programs, and community mental health centers. Joel was introduced to NSGP in June 2010 after reaching out for help with the PHP groups he was tasked to lead at the time - he was struggling. The very next day he biked to Simmons College to attend NSGP's Annual Conference. It was a day/weekend that greatly changed his personal and professional trajectory. Through supervision, being in groups, observing groups, and learning about groups, he went from dreading them to absolutely loving them. He's been involved in NSGP from the get-go, chairing or co-chairing the Breakfast Club, Training, and Scholarship Committees and presenting and leading/co-leading in several ways. Joel has been less active in recent years due to starting a family and covid, and he can't wait to continue the work of helping NSGP be a rich, vibrant community that is welcoming to people of all identities. Co-President Alexandra (Sasha) Watkins, Ed.D., LMHC Alexandra (Sasha) Watkins, Ed.D., LMHC, has worked and volunteered in mental health and related fields for more than twenty years in the US and internationally. She is committed to affirming diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on individual and organizational levels. As an MBA Support Services Associate Director at Harvard Business School, Sasha oversees DEI programming and is a point person for students seeking support around DEI-related issues. As the Director of Drawing on Strengths LLC, Sasha has run a program for neurodiverse adults since 2005. Finally, at Lesley University, Sasha teaches group dynamics and other courses from an identity-based perspective. She has facilitated long-term and short-term structured and unstructured groups in diverse clinical settings, including VA, psychiatric rehabilitation, college counseling, and private practice. Her scholarship focuses on identity, culture, and leadership. Sasha has been an NSGP member since 2009 and served on Conference and Nomination Committees. She currently Co-Chairs NSGP DEI Committee with Dr. Mary Alicia Barnes. |
Past-PresidentGuy R. Croteau, LICSW, CGPAfter 20 years working in Information Technology, Guy Croteau, LICSW, CGP became a therapist after graduating Boston University in 2001. He's been in Private Practice since 2014 and previously worked at Fenway Health for 8 years where he led a number of gay men's groups and other groups for those with chronic mental health issues. Guy joined NSGP in 2011 following the completion of the Principles Course. He then served on the Executive Board as Treasurer for 2 consecutive terms (2016-2020). He believes that NSGP has a dynamic and integral role to play in the professional lives of those who facilitate groups in any setting. He also strongly advocates for NSGP's growth in areas of diversity, inclusion and equity and looks forward to helping lead NSGP to become a more welcoming organization to all who want to participate. |
TreasurerJennifer Ruiz, MD, CGP, AGPA-FBoard profile coming soon. |
SecretaryCatherine Dubois, Psy.D. Board profile coming soon. |
NSGP Board of Directors
Samantha Dorian, MDiv, MA Samantha Dorian works in Providence, RI & Boston, MA. She is a candidate in the Clinical Doctoral Program in Psychoanalysis at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (BGSP) in Brookline, MA. She is a visual artist, a meditation teacher, and currently building her private practice while developing new groups as well as starting her foundation: SculptYourMind™ She sees adults, couples and runs workshops and facilitates groups. Samantha is experienced in conflict resolution, inter-religious dialogue and group dynamics; training she received at Harvard. As a meditation instructor as well as a group leader, she often works with people suffering from extreme states of psychosis. However, presently, she teaches meditation for the ILD Collaborative, for those suffering from lung disease. Samantha’s involvement with NSGP began when she attended her conference in 2019 after working with a group leader at the VA in Middletown, RI who had trained at NSGP. Samantha knows the benefits of group work are profound and long lasting. She firmly believes that groups provide the best possible experience to allow the shifts necessary for healing to occur when thoughts and feelings are put to language. The magic of words can transform the inner landscape. |
Corey J Flanders, LMHC, MA, CGP Corey Flanders is a mental health counselor and certified group psychotherapist with a private practice in Providence, RI. He began attending the NSGP annual conference in 2015 and absolutely loved the experiential components of group training. He went on to complete the Principles Course and the Experience Group at NSGP. He looks to expand his involvement with the NSGP community while building interest in group psychotherapy generally in Rhode Island. He is currently training at the Center for Group Studies in New York and leads a vibrant training group for therapists as well as a men’s group and a mixed gender process group. |
Anaïs Lugo-Guercio, OTAnaïs Lugo-Guercio, OT, received her master’s in occupational therapy from Tufts University. She has experience working in schools, with children from kindergarten to high school, and leading psycho-educational groups in the in-patient mental health setting. Anaïs is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion group leader, leading groups focused on identity, healing, and social justice. She is a member of NSGP’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Her areas of interest include inclusive virtual communities. |
Michael Murray, LMHC, M.Ed., CGP Michael Murray, LMHC, M.Ed, CGP is a therapist and educational consultant. He has worked in K-12 education for twenty-two years, in programs for students with significant social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Most of his group experience is in leading groups with children and adolescents. Michael sees patients in his office in Cambridge, and consults with school districts about inclusion programming. He is adjunct faculty at Lesley University, teaching group dynamics. |
NSGP Past Presidents
1956-58 Herbert Barry, MD, Founder
1958-60 Lynn S. Beals, MD
1960-64 Stanley Kanter, MD
1964-66 Max Day, MD
1966-68 Norman A. Neiberg, Ph.D., FAGPA
1968-70 Jacob Christ, MD
1970-72 Henry Grunebaum, MD, FAGPA
1972-74 Donald Wexler, MD, FAGPA
1974-76 Franklin Carter, MD
1976-78 Lawrence Bader, Ph.D., FAGPA
1978-80 J. Scott Rutan, Ph.D., DFAGPA
1980-82 Anne Alonso, Ph.D., FAGPA
1982-84 Cecil A. Rice, Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA
1984-86 Allan Lurvey, Th.D.
1986-88 Sharon S. Cheeseman, LICSW, CGP, FAGPA
1988-90 Suzanne L. Cohen, Ed.D., CGP, FAGPA
1990-92 Samuel R. James, Ed.D., ABPP, FAGPA
1992-94 Walker E. Shields, MD, CGP, FAGPA
1994-96 Steven Haut, LICSW, BCD
1996-98 Kathleen Hubbs Ulman, Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA
1998-00 Arnold Cohen, Ph.D.
2000-02 Richard C. Tomb, MD
2002-04 Joyce D. Shields, APRN, BC, CGP
2004-06 Lise Motherwell, Psy.D., CGP
2006-08 Barbara Keezell, LICSW, BCD, CGP
2008-10 Eleanor Counselman, Ed.D., CGP, FAGPA
2010-12 Sara Emerson, LICSW, CGP, FAGPA
2012-14 Peter Gumpert, Ph.D.
2014-16 Debora Carmichael, Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA
2016-18 Steffen Fuller, Ph.D., CGP
2018-20 Ann Koplow, LICSW, CGP
2020-22 Jennifer DeSouza, MSW, LICSW, CGP
2022-24 Guy R. Croteau, LICSW, CGP
2024- Joel Krieg, LICSW, CGP and Alexandra (Sasha) Watkins, Ed.D., LMHC